Losing connection to host, everytime i finish a race

[niall09]

The last two times i've race, i have come 1st and second. but after each race it says ''practice offline'' What does that mean?

[N I K I]

lol, i have never heard for something like that...

[SamH]

That's the message that you get when your best laptime is significantly worse than the lap record for that track. Unfortunately it also happens when someone has used a shortcut/exploit to get a super-fast laptime. If you could let me know which track configuration you were on and which server you were in, I'll be able to find out who has exploited the system and ban them, and remove the faulty lap record.

[Becky Rose]

Sounds like a dodgy world record, can you tell me the track and the car please and I will fix the problem

[niall09]

it was FE gold. on the s1 server with XFG.

Thanks,
Niall

[niall09]

That has just happened. i finished 9th on westhill on STCC server with uf1. i lost connection to host and it said the same thing.

[LFSn00b]

I finished 4th, and was kicked because of nothing.

[SpikeyMarcoD]

System keeps kicking. See a UF1 record on WE1 of 1:53 while we drive 2:24. pls fix?

[LFSn00b]

http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?t=21496

[Jakg]

He means someone has got the record to an artificially low time, and then people who set good laps are too slow compared to the new record.

PS - The WR is 2:21.36

[LFSn00b]

Yes, but i see there is now two threads about the same thing.

[SamH]

I've removed the faulty record and relaunched the application. Nobody should get booted now :)

[anik360]

can u tell mee which server you were going i would like to check that out :)

Edit: could Be HaXxOrs

[SamH]

(two threads merged)

[Jakg]

STCC 1a New & Bronze

[anik360]

hmm gonna check em out today ;)

[Swiss_Tony]

Is there a way where someone who sets an artificial lap record can be booted/banned pro-actively at the time of the incident? ie. using the same method that is currently used to boot racers who fall way below the lap record. If the offender's time is a fair percentage above that record, then it can be assumed it is a fraud. Obviously the new record must be deleted at the same time so others don't get booted as well. Would this be difficult to implement ? Just an idea :scratchch

[Jakg]

We've had at least one LFS World timing error were actually the lap time wasn't set via a hack, but by an error

[SamH]

Is there a way where someone who sets an artificial lap record can be booted/banned pro-actively at the time of the incident? ie. using the same method that is currently used to boot racers who fall way below the lap record. If the offender's time is a fair percentage above that record, then it can be assumed it is a fraud. Obviously the new record must be deleted at the same time so others don't get booted as well. Would this be difficult to implement ? Just an idea :scratchch
I kinda like the idea. I wish it were possible to save MPRs on the server, so at least we could be alerted. As Jak says, though, we've had innocent timing errors in the past. This one was definitely not one of those, though.. and the guy is history, never to return. We don't want anyone who would do that deliberately, on STCC servers. :)

[teaz-R]

I got booted from WE1R while driving 1:59's with the RB4

[SamH]

Is this today?

[anik360]

Maybe Some peeps got to hack or something Dev's drop by here to see whats the situation:nod::smileypul

[SamH]

Maybe Some peeps got to hack or something Dev's drop by here to see whats the situation:nod::smileypul
Nahh this is an STCC thing.. if you drive well below the standard on the server, it kicks you. It's about 127% of the server record, I think. Worse than that, and it kicks you.

Most of the time, this system works brilliantly, but when the server gets a bad record (which happens when someone cheats, or occasionally with a bad data packet) trouble ensues! :)

[anik360]

ooo :really: thats bad though and BTW how many nodes or servers do you people have to run all the lfs world things and the forum and site?:D

[teaz-R]

Is this today?

yes today

[Becky Rose]

ooo :really: thats bad though and BTW how many nodes or servers do you people have to run all the lfs world things and the forum and site?:D

The STCC has two dedicated server machines (Heathrow), one shared server (Canary Wharf), and one shared server farm (distributed). The second dedicated server is not yet online but it has passed soak test though and is waiting install by the colocation partner.

Just to be clear though, STCC has no direct asocciation with this forum or LFS World.

[nihil]

I got booted from WE1R while driving 1:59's with the RB4

Hmmm... I was too. Same track, but didn't get the "go away and practice message", just lost connection as I finished, two races in a row.

[nihil]

Must have missed the msg first time round, 'cause Westhill Reverse is kicking everyone for not being fast enough...

[SamH]

yes today
I've been to investigate the cause of this problem, and I've found it. I've removed illegally obtained records for both the RB4 and XRT, and permabanned a total of 5 cheaters.

It's now safe to race WE1R again :)

[The Moose]

and permabanned a total of 5 cheaters.


Wow, 5 cheaters...nice work.:thumb: Let that be a warning to others....Play fair or be struck down by wrath of Sam:jedi:

[SamH]

Yeah, there's some satisfaction in catching cheaters a full week after they've cheated, when they probably think they got away with it. The evidence is all there, though, and there's no question. It was deliberate cheating.

I have to say, though, that I'm more sad than anything. We want as many people in and racing as possible, so kicking out 5 people sticks in the throat a bit.

We've made a commitment to everyone that your STCC licence means you're "keen and clean".. and so when someone (or 5 of them) turn up to undermine that, the only way to address it is to remove them from the running completely.

[Becky Rose]

Specifically the lap times involved, ~50 seconds of Westhill Reversed in a TBO car, where being reproduced consistently lap after lap after lap, so whatever cheat/exploit was in use was not some freak ocurrance. I imagine it was not a hack because so many drivers where doing it, which means they copied it - sadly I/we havn't been able to see what the exploit is though.

All the same, as a general principle this kind of thing, especially from some people with a high licence, is just not welcome. It's well established that we take strong action because it has such a wide spread effect on people using the server after the event.

If you foil our lap record storage system by cheating, then you are not welcome and it is instant perma-ban. We also do this for those using hacks.

[csurdongulos]

isn't it possible to save replays on a dedicated server? or for example save only those replays, where the server records were broken by someone?

I really can'T imagine how you can do WE reverse in 50 seconds with any car, not to mention the TBO's. did they use some grip and speed hack, or did they do a shortcut somewhere? or maybe the track wasn't even westhill, but some other short track, but the server accidentally registered it as westhill?

[Becky Rose]

Before applying a ban the data is corroborated with LFS World.

EDIT: On replays, the dedicated host does not store them, although the STCC Manager Software has a server side replay system that is almost finished now - but it needs a special viewer which i'm yet to write.

[kompa]

I was racing on the silver and up server yesterday and I think the ~50s laptime "cheat" happened because of LFSW lagging. I saw a few pb's achieved on the previous shorter track pop up after the track change. Just a guess.

[Becky Rose]

LFSW doesnt do the timing. It can sometimes lag and report things later, but what it reports is information collated in game, irrespective of lag.

[eakew]

The last two times i've race yesterday (18 and 15 laps!!!), WeIntRev/XRT, after each race it says ''practice offline'' :( , my laps in low 1:58 ...but I remember a racer, with fastest lap 1:56.xx (XRT) :shrug:

[Becky Rose]

Yes that was down to some cheating which had gone on before and is now fixed. Those caught, as discussed above, are no longer welcome on STCC and have been perma-banned.